


and that was that.

by tevna



Series: "you're my investment" [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, inspired by a tumblr post, thank you queerlylonnie, the tag needed more draeden, these season needed more draeden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 10:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6751189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tevna/pseuds/tevna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What’s not fair is that I can’t go back there, and you know I can’t go back there, and I wish I could have been strong enough for you to go back there so I could protect you but I just wasn’t. And if you’d asked me not to go somewhere, I would have stayed. I would have stayed with you forever, because I love you. And you couldn’t even consider staying. So don’t. Don’t tell me about not fair.” Derek got choked up and turned around to look out the window, because he couldn’t face her. He couldn’t look at her when he’s being so goddamn, pathetic, so goddamn open about this. He yearned for her, he wanted to pull her in close and never let her leave. But that's not what this was.</p><p>Angsty-Fluff with a hint of smut. S5 Draeden. What happens when Brae goes back home after her stint in Beacon Hills? Loosely inspired by a tumblr post in the draeden tag by queerlylonnie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and that was that.

Derek is mad at her.

She doesn’t need to hear his heartbeat to know this. She doesn’t need to smell his emotions, monitor his sweat intake, or be able to read his mind in order to know this. She knows that Derek is mad. And she knows that Derek is mad at her.

She’d come back to Beacon Hills to finish a job she started. She went back there not for money or a job, but because she needed to help Malia. And Derek understood, he really did but the day she left, she could tell that he was pissed.

That day, she woke up without feeling the warmth on her right side. Derek was sitting up on the bed, always the early riser. His bare back indicated that he was hunched over, head in his hands. He wasn’t crying or anything, just...thinking, composing himself. And for a second, she almost forgot what day it was. She wanted to turn over and hug him from behind. But she knew better. Not that Derek would ever hurt her, and if he did, she always had moutain ash hidden in the dresser beside the bed. But that was beside the point.

If she rolled over and comforted him, who would do it for him tomorrow? She’d kill him, make him feel like he needed her to survive when he’s gone 20 some odd years without her. And the warmth of his body against hers, his dark soulful eyes, his raspy morning voice...God, that would kill her. She would never leave. And she had to go.

So she rolled over to the other side of the bed, alerting Derek that she was awake. Clad in Derek’s boxers and a sports bra, she yawned a chipper “good morning” towards Derek’s frame, pretending like she didn’t feel the tension in her heart. After she brushed her teeth, she reentered the room and Derek was gone as she practiced ignoring the pang in her heart.

Derek was in the kitchen, drinking some orange juice and trying not to think about saying goodbye. A full poured glass of Braeden's favorite wine was untouched next to him. Braeden stepped into the room, in some black leggings, one of his v-necks, and his leather jacket that was comically large on her. Derek watched her walk toward him, drowning in cracked black leather and odd blood stains. He couldn’t help but smile, which is what she wanted all along. She reached him quickly and he wrapped a hand around her waist out of habit. She pressed her head against his chest. And they stood like that for a minute, Derek’s chin on her forehead and Braeden buried in Derek’s leather.

“How was your day?” Derek murmured into her hair and she smiled lazily against his chest.

“Well, I slept until noon for once. I did some more research with Malia on the Desert Wolf, yes which I am still doing, and I am updating the Bestiary with Lydia and Jordan when I get to Beacon Hills, so that will be fun.” Braeden took a long sip of her wine as Derek chuckled.

“I know you love Archaic Latin and the Stilinskis.” he joked, and she laughed but in the same breath he whispered “Don’t go.” so low she almost couldn't hear it. Almost.

“I have to.” she answered, just as hushed. A minute passed.

“Hey. Come with me.” she moved her head to look up at him as she requested this plainly, like he expected her to.

“ No.” he replied, pressing a kiss on her forehead, like she expected him too.

“Okay.”

And that was that.

After breakfast, Braeden loaded up her motorcycle, almost overwhelmed by the familiarity of such a routine. The only thing different was Derek on their (his? the?) porch, looking down at the ground, and swallowing his goodbye. She paused when she heard him walk down the steps, anticipating this.

What she didn’t anticipate was Derek grabbing her hand, making her drop her keys, and spinning her around to meet his lips. And that’s when she knew he was pissed, because at first, the kiss was soft and sweet before he pressed her against his car. And it continued to be sweet and all, just without forfeiting the roughness and the urgency as his hands immediately pressed against her waist and that’s what pissed her off so much, because she was going to have to ride her motorcycle with trembling legs and weak knees, all horniness and no release, thinking about this kiss.

Derek released her lips and placed his hands on her face, for a second, just looking at her before he bent down and pressed her keys in the palm of her hand. Panting, Braeden almost didn’t register him stalk back up the stairs and slam the front door of their (her? the?) stupid temporary bungalow.

While she was gone, she and Derek didn’t talk as regularly as she was used to. It’s not that she called and he didn’t answer, it was more like he didn’t call unless it was 3 AM when he knew she would be asleep and she didn’t call at all because he never answers.

Not that she was worried. She wasn’t. It’s just that she thought about him with other women all the time, couldn’t help it.

They texted though but it wasn’t enough. When she texted him that she was on her way back home, Derek only sent back “Thank God”.

And here she was now, in the driveway of the stupid bungalow, biting her lip. She knows that it's 1 AM but she knows that Derek heard her and her motorcycle. Shaking, she pulled her keys from her pocket and looked for the yellow-capped one, the one that Derek gave her, the one that let her in. She started to go around the back way, dragging her bag with her before the door opened and there he was.

He stared at her, rubbing his eyes, as if she wasn’t real. And for a second, she felt like she was on fire. He descended the stairs, calmly and quietly, as her lip quivered a little bit. He hadn’t shaved in awhile.

“You grew out your beard?” she said nonchalantly, trying to diffuse tension before it started.He examined her body, and she tried to hide her new scars and bandaged side from him but it was impossible. All she could do was maintain eye contact with him, and refuse to back down. But it was too late, he was angry.

“You’re hurt.” he said, crossing his arms.

“I know.” she answered.

“You shouldn’t have gone back, Brae.” he said, voice tight and full of contempt, not necessarily directed at her. “It could have been worse, and you know that.”

“Derek, I had to go back, and you know that. I had to-”

“No you didn’t, Braeden.” He raised his voice and it was like a slap to the face. Derek doesn’t lose his temper often, he prefers being dramatic when he’s angry.

“Babe. I'm tired, I just got back. Please, can we talk about this in the morning?” Braeden whined, even though she didn’t feel like sleeping.

“If you’re not here to talk about it, why’d you even come back?” Derek said plainly, walking back up the stairs and inside the house. Braeden felt a ball well up in her throat but she ignored it in order to follow Derek up the stairs and respond.

“Derek.” She placed her bags on the ground near the couch as he turned to look at her. “I needed to help Malia- your cousin, Malia. Scott, all of them, they needed my help. Our help. And if you weren’t going to do it, someone had to.” She regretted the words almost immediately but she couldn’t let on.

“Give me a break.” Derek borderline hissed at her. “This wasn’t about Malia or Scott. This was about you. This was about you and the Desert Wolf. I know you Braeden, you’re way too selfish to just go out of your way to help people you barely know for free.”

That one stung.

“So what, Derek? I don’t deserve closure?”

“It’s not that.”

“Tell me what I deserve then, since you’re all great and all-knowing and powerful. Should I have just built a wall and ignored it? I’m sorry Derek, if you’re embarrassed that I, your human fucking girlfrend, have integrity.”

“You know what, fuck off, Brae! I hate when you do this.”

"Do what?"

"Pull the imperfect human card. I hate it."

“No trust me, I know you hate me when I’m being me and showing any ounce of imperfection or humanity. Please, just tell me next time whenever you feel like I’m not acting like your perfect alpha pack chew toy and I promise, I’ll correct myself.”

“That’s not it, Brae.”

“Then what is it, Derek! Please, let me the fuck know because--”

“You wanted to go back more than you love me!” he yelled.

And that was that.

Derek sniffed and turned away from her, and Braeden looked at him, mouth agape. She had never seen Derek lose his temper like this, not even in the face of death. Before she could reply, he stormed out the backdoor and left Braeden there. A second past like a decade and Braeden heard a pained howl that she knew was Derek that left her shaking. Sinking to the rug beneath their couch, Braeden held her head in her hands and willed herself not to cry.

That night, Braeden slept alone. Derek had come back home last night, she felt him slide back into bed beside her but was too afraid to touch him, afraid he wouldn’t be real. She woke up to an empty bedside, ate coffee ice cream by herself and stared at the woods outside the window with bad daytime TV playing in the background. She had no idea where Derek was.

A little past noon, Derek came bustling through the backdoor while Braeden was making a sandwich. She swallowed her turkey hard, winced as the wound on her side throbbed against the counter . She had to rewrap her bandage, so she was dressed in a sports bra and some leggings, mismatched fuzzy socks. Derek was wearing the leather jacket with the cracked leather and the odd blood stains that smelled like him, the one she knew too well.

Derek entered, glancing at the TV, the kitchen, the bedroom...anywhere but her. He moved to the bathroom and when he re-emerged, it took all Braeden had to not beg him to look at her.

“How was your night?” she asked from the kitchen counter as he plopped on the couch, unable to keep staring at him pathetically without saying something. She needed to talk to him, now.

“Fine.” he grunted, moodily. She wanted to roll her eyes and laugh, but none of this was funny.

“I missed you.” she said, matter of factly because it was true.

“Never would have guessed.” he murmured under his breath, even though she knew he could smell it all over her. Braeden placed her sandwich down and looked over at him, crossing her arms.

“That’s not fair, Derek.” She all but whimpered, cringing at how pathetic she sounded.

“Not fair? Not fair.” Derek got to his feet, for this argument.

“Yes, not fair. I missed you every single day, every damn day.” She argued, just as angry.

“Don’t tell me about not fair, Brae. What’s not fair Braeden is me spending hours trying to convince myself not to call you, beg you to come back to me because I could fucking smell you everywhere around me and it was driving me and my wolf insane.”

Braeden stared at this man, broken. She didn’t realize. She didn’t even think that it mattered this much to Derek, but she should have known. He had so much, so much richness and honesty in the way he felt about her and the transparency of it all frightened her, excited her...made her feel so fucking jealous, so fucking envious of the way he could exist with so much soul.

“What’s not fair is that I can’t go back there, and you know I can’t go back there, and I wish I could have been strong enough for you to go back there so I could protect you but I just wasn’t. And if you’d asked me not to go somewhere, I would have stayed. I would have stayed with you forever, because I love you. And you couldn’t even consider staying. So don’t. Don’t tell me about not fair.” Derek got choked up and turned around to look out the window, because he couldn’t face her. He couldn’t look at her when he’s being so goddamn, pathetic, so goddamn open about this. He yearned for her, he wanted to pull her in close and never let her leave. But that's not what this was.

“Derek.” she said,trying so hard to sound whole. “Derek, I am so sorry you felt that way. I love you so much. I love you with all of my heart. That’s why I did what I did. That’s why I had to leave, because I just wanted everything to be done. So I could move on with my life with you. And be here with you. Not because I love my job or my ego more than you. But I knew if I wanted to move on and have a life with you, I needed to do this.”

She approached him cautiously, placing a hand on his back. He rested into her touch a little, defeated. “Derek, I’m sorry. And I love you so much but I’m not sorry that I went back to Beacon Hills. I’m sorry that I didn’t take the time to explain that to you, I guess I just...I didn’t want to bother you. You had so much going on and I thought I could handle it on my own.”

Derek turned towards her, eyes low, all the anger removed from his body.

“You didn’t have to, though.” he said. “I’m here for you.”

“I know you are. It’s just that…I’m used to being alone. You’re gonna have to work with me here, this stuff isn’t my strong suit...I’ve only been in a few serious relationships and believe me, this is so serious to me.” Braeden reached her hand out to touch his hand. He didn’t respond to her touch immediately but let her touch him, which was a success.

“I just felt...well, I don’t know what I felt. Like you weren’t coming back.”

She squeezed his hand and smiled, moving in closer, to press her head against his chest. Derek allowed her presence, his chin ghosting towards her forehead. “Well, I’m here, aren’t I?”

He looked down at her and Braeden suddenly felt how tired she was...how at home she felt. Placing his hands on her face, he tilted her chin up towards him and kissed her tenderly, like she would break or fall apart or disappear. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, not caring that he hasn’t shaved in months.

She pulled away from him to murmur that the beard would need to go ASAP if she was gonna keep kissing this face but Derek swept her up in this crushing hug, one that lifted her legs up around his waist. She screamed a bit, laughing, as Derek walked her and fell onto their bed. Underneath him, covered in kisses and surrounded by love, she felt warm.

As he kissed down her chest, he was met with her wound. He looked up at her as she winced a little, and she saw him decide to go back to her chest and kiss her breasts instead. She stopped him before he could move.It had been too damn long.

“Don’t go.” she whispered and Derek’s face softened.

“Okay,” he said and pressed a gentle kiss to her side, as his hands dipped into the hem of her pants to slide them down.

And that was that.


End file.
